A cinephile like myself is always proud when an Egyptian movie makes waves internationally; and that is exactly what Egyptian director Tarik Saleh’s new movie is doing. The Nile Hilton Incident received very positive reviews from leading film magazines — such as Variety and Hollywood Reporter — for all the right reasons.

Earlier this year, the movie was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was also awarded the Grand Prix from the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival.

Via Sundance

The movie takes place in 2011 Cairo, weeks before the revolution. It is about a police detective working in the infamous Kasr el-Nil police station, and is handed a case of a murdered singer. The case evolves as he realizes that the investigation concerns the president’s inner circle.

Saleh was born in 1972 in Stockholm, and directed several successful movies and award-winning documentaries before. The Egyptian director also produced the popular music video, “I Follow Rivers” by Lykke Li, that has garnered 60 million views on YouTube.